Furriners
I was chatting with some South African mates the other day and they were complaining about slugs in the kitchen.
"put salt on them" I advised.
"What does that do?" they asked.
I was completely nonplussed, but they had no idea not having grown up with slugs. Not that I was raised by slugs or anything.

What common knowledge has turned out to not be common for you recently?

Alternatively, what's the oddest thing on your desk?
( The Light in Chains don't touch the Pope's boner, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:09, 37 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

Not sure really.
Oddest as in "most out of place" would be a broken welding mask, given that this is a furniture factory.
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:13, Reply)

I've got three hole punches.
A bit excessive.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:14, Reply)

How many paper clips?
You're right though, that's hole-punch-overkill.
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:16, Reply)

I've got a small box of them,
I'll need one of qotw's resident autisms to count them.
(PsychoChomp, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:17, Reply)

I have a massive paper punch
And half a pint glass of paper clips
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:17, Reply)

I've got two vending-machine cups
Full of pennies.
I don't know why.
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:18, Reply)

nutritious beverage

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:20, Reply)

I have a meccano helicopter
but it's not that odd
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:16, Reply)

I've got this which was created for a recent image challenge:
www.b3tards.com/u/c7b44f5c8593a089ddfa/platoon.jpg

At home I have a small framed picture of Rod Stewart. A jokey gift from a friend...
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:17, Reply)

that's just silly

( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:20, Reply)

Theres nothing silly about war...
Or Rod Stewart for that matter
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:23, Reply)

a bottle
of Encona Hot Pepper Sauce.

MmmmMMmmmMMMMmmmmmm
( Monty Boyce, My cheese game is strong, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:50, Reply)

I have this
Great on burgers!
( whenanimalsattackhumans clad in global hypercolour, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:11, Reply)

I have a tube
for urine collection, as I have an appointment with a midwife this afternoon and she wants my pee.

common knowledge - well, my colleague the other day hadn't heard of midwives before, and thought they were something like witches. he's american though.
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:51, Reply)

You mean they AREN'T witches?

( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:54, Reply)

well
some are. not mine though, she seems quite sane for a health care professional.
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:55, Reply)

That's good to know!
You gonna be going to Harlow or Cambridge?
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:57, Reply)

cambridge, dahling!
don't want an essex baby!

(plus it does have a better reputation than harlow for maternity services)
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:59, Reply)

A wise choice,
I was born in Harlow. You don't want to take that risk.
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:00, Reply)

well, in that case
I shall avoid harlow at all costs. :-)
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:02, Reply)

Seriously though,
Good choice.
I'm forever blighted with "Harlow" on my passport.
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:03, Reply)

yup
I'm an unashamed snob, but don't want my baby to be blighted by association with essex :-) I've got 'Glasgow' in my passport, and that's bad enough. gets folk a little wary around me in airports, as if they expect me to beat up burning terrorists or something.
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:05, Reply)

That reminds me...
Best headline EVER:
thehosh.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/kickedterrorist.jpg
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:08, Reply)

that wins the news
forever
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:10, Reply)

as michael mcintyre says
don't fuck with scots who have a holiday booked!

although really it should just be 'don't fuck with scots'.
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:14, Reply)

I have
a picture of a koala, a furry pig and a monkey dressed as an astronaut which farts when you press it. I'm classy.
(The Apeface Cherub is not a cunty-uber-cunt, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:55, Reply)

I wouldn't say anything
on my desk is particularly odd, but then I do work in a lab:

1 broken microscope lamp
1 toy dog (freebie)
1 broken cooling unit from a gel electrophoresis tank
roll of 'poisonous' tape
a balloon with a face on it
a biscuit tin, sadly empty and
lots and lots of pieces of paper.

*EDIT* oh, and a Santa figurine that shits jellybeans when you press his head. Classy.
(berk, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 9:58, Reply)

Is the tape poisonous?
Or it has writing on it?
( Cawl, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:04, Reply)

it's mildly irritating
hence the 'poisonous'
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:06, Reply)

No,
it's tape for sticking on things that are poisonous. Presumably to protect stupid people; anyone who carelessly necks anything from a lab is asking for trouble.
(berk, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:23, Reply)

you
could amost make a nativity scene out of that - we did in our old lab, baby jesus was an eppendorf tube. wrapped in foil. boss wasn't too impressed.
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:06, Reply)

Win
I'm doing that this year...although last year we did warm up the pre-Christmas party mulled wine in the lab hot water bath, causing our health and safety officer to have a bit of a hissy fit. He still drank it though.
(berk, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:26, Reply)

we
made a pirate ship in our lab out of old boxes and lots of foil - boss came in, took one look at it, and said 'that's the hardest you lot have worked all year, isn't it?' then asked for help with his costume (it was a pirate themed christmas party for some reason :-))
( ascorbate, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 11:17, Reply)

A surgical kidney dish
and a newspaper cutting about the decline of Swifts.
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 10:28, Reply)

An old shell casing
in which I keep my pens.


I have an aunt who grew up in SA - she freaked out when she saw her first earwig here - she thought it was a scorpion.
( chickenlady b3ta's very own Elizabeth Taylor, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 11:15, Reply)

i have
a bottle of emirates stadium arsenal still water...
(beanojam isn't really Ricardo Flange, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 11:36, Reply)

I have nothing unusual on my desk,
two laptops, two computers two pdas various tools and cds and dvds all over the place and a dirty tea mug.

Im an IT Techie though
( Peej, Wed 26 Aug 2009, 12:14, Reply)